Signing Cuban infielders hasn’t worked out terribly well for the Dodgers in recent years, as neither Alexander Guerrero nor Erisbel Arruebarrena has developed as hoped. Perhaps the third time will be the charm.
The Dodgers are obviously hoping so, banking $62.5 million on infielder Hector Olivera, winning the latest bidding for a Cuban import. According to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, the six-year contract includes a $28 million signing bonus. With that offer, the Dodgers beat out the Yankees, Braves, Marlins, Giants and Padres, each of whom had reportedly shown strong interest. The deal was announced one day after the Dodgers signed Cuban pitcher Pablo Fernandez to an $8 million package.
Pursuit for Olivera might have included even more MLB clubs, but some likely felt it was risky to commit big money to a player who will turn 30 on April 5. Obviously, that’s not a concern for a large-market team with megabucks ownership like the Dodgers. The team will be paying Olivera nearly the same amount that Jose Abreu got from the White Sox ($68 million) in 2013.
But team president Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhad Zaidi may also have been more willing to invest in a run-producing infielder with several positions set to open in their lineup. That contract certainly comes with the expectation of their latest Cuban prospect to become a key part of their lineup and impact hitter in the very near future.
Second baseman Howie Kendrick, shortstop Jimmy Rollins and third baseman Juan Uribe are all set to become free agents after the 2015 season. Olivera will likely take at least one of those spots. He mostly played second base in Cuba, but can also play third base. Shortstop likely belongs to top prospect Corey Seager, perhaps as soon as next season. Maybe Guerrero and/or Arruebarrena (who was removed from the Dodgers’ 40-man roster during the offseason) could even factor in somehow eventually.
Having Kendrick, Rollins and Uribe for one more season also allows Olivera to recover from an elbow injury that might require Tommy John surgery, something else that may have scared additional MLB teams from bidding for his services. However, returning from such a procedure is typically an eight-month process for position players, as opposed to the 14- to 17-month recovery pitchers require.
Here’s what Baseball America‘s Ben Badler wrote about Olivera in January:
“[…] he appeared to be in good physical condition, with more weight (6-foot-2, 220 pounds) than he had during his prime years on the national team, but carrying it in a good way. He ran the 60-yard dash in around 6.7 to 6.8 seconds, depending on the stopwatch, showing slightly above-average speed. He’s not flashy at second base, but scouts said he looked like a steady defender. Olivera also took groundballs at third base, and while he’s shown a plus arm in the past, he didn’t seem to be airing it out quite as much at the showcase.”
As Badler points out, Olivera’s frame indicates power potential, which he showed in his 10 seasons with Cuba’s Serie Nacional. He hit at least 16 home runs during three of those years. Though speed doesn’t appear to be a big component of his game based on his numbers — especially as he gets older — Olivera did steal 21 bases in 2007. Very few MLB infielders offer that combination of power and speed, so you can see why he appealed to several teams.
